From staff reports

A former Warren County man described as “soft-hearted” by family members was found dead in a Harrison County motel room Sunday, and officials ruled his death a homicide.

Thomas “Tommy” Corbin Sr., 51, was found Sunday morning, said a statement from Sheriff Melvin T. Brisolera. His body was discovered by a housekeeper at the Crystal Inn off Canal Road outside Gulfport.

After an autopsy Sunday, the death was ruled a homicide from complications due to an assault, said Harrison County Coroner Gary T. Hargrove.

“We don’t know much else,” Kathy Gary, one of Corbin’s three siblings, said this morning.

Corbin had been living in Vancleave, in Jackson County, for “several years,” said Gary, of Jefferson Davis County. He had worked as an electrician and carpenter, she said. “He was a very talented and soft-hearted, wonderful man.”

Sister Jeannie Dick, who lives in Vancleave, said the last time she saw her brother was Saturday morning, when he stopped by her house for a visit.

“He was a great and wonderful brother and a wonderful person,” she said, “the best brother there ever was.”

Investigators were also searching for Corbin’s gray, 2004 Ford F-150 king cab pickup, Jackson County tag No. JJ2 928.

Motel surveillance showed Corbin with two people — a white man in his late-20s or early-30s with brown hair and blond dreadlocks, wearing camouflage, knee-length shorts, a blue shirt and black boots; and a white woman, about 4 feet tall with cropped hair, wearing a gray tank top and long pants. Both were carrying backpacks with bedrolls.

Corbin was reared in the Culkin community of Warren County and attended Culkin Elementary and Warren Central High School. He is survived by two children, Thomas Corbin Jr. of the Jackson area and Mandy Corbin of Vicksburg.

The family planned to travel to Vicksburg today to make funeral arrangements, Gary said.